Friends & Frames

Posted by Beena

18th December 2018

Now, this is how you put a ‘public well’ in the middle of a store.

The concept involved designing an interior that would work as a ‘city event’ or a ‘city play.’ It was to be a dynamic destination, an integral part of the town, and to have ‘an atmosphere similar to a gallery.’

Swathed in metallic blue paint and bedecked with an ‘independent ecosystem’ of spindly plants, the store’s towering centrepiece refers to one of the city’s only public wells, constructed in the Middle Ages and destroyed in World War II. The design studio, sought to reclaim the public nature of the well with a narrative that connects past and future.

The space is clinically post-industrial: a collection of high-end glasses juxtaposed with exposed-concrete walls is mirrored in both the reflective ceiling and a high-gloss epoxy floor. The studio’s intent to provide the interior with a ‘liminal’ treatment of materials and decoration is rooted in the premise that the ‘aesthetic position derives from the need’. All furnishings are recycled objects playing reimagined roles.

While set in a historical and local context, Friends & Frames tries to remain relevant in a digital age. Focus on experiences and narratives to draw consumers away from the convenience of apps.